Shoe having a welt unit

ABSTRACT

A shoe includes a vamp unit, an outsole unit, and a welt unit. The vamp unit has a top open end section, a bottom end section, and a toe cap section disposed between the top and bottom end sections. The outsole unit is coupled to the bottom end section, and has a top surface and a groove that is formed in the top surface for retaining at least a portion of the bottom end section corresponding in position to the toe cap section. The welt unit is disposed on the top surface and extends along the contour of at least the toe cap section.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a shoe, more particularly to a shoe having a welt unit.

2. Description of the Related Art

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional shoe comprises an outsole 1, a midsole 2, a vamp unit 3, a lining 4, a steel toe cap 5, and a welt unit 6. The vamp unit 3 is connected fixedly to the outsole unit 1 and has a toe cap portion 301. The lining 4 is disposed in the vamp unit 3. The steel toe cap 5 is disposed between the toe cap portion 301 of the vamp unit 3 and the lining 4, and has a surrounding wall 501 and a flange 502 extending inwardly from a bottom edge of the surrounding wall 501. The welt unit 6 is mounted on the outsole 1 and surrounds the vamp unit 3.

Generally, taking U.S. Men's shoe size 9 as an example, a height of the steel toe cap 5 usually ranges from 32 mm to 40 mm, and a thickness of each of the surrounding wall 501 and the flange 502 of the steel toe cap 5 is 2 mm. The steel toe cap 5 is disposed on a flat top surface of the outsole 1, such that the toe cap portion 301 of the vamp unit 3 is 4 mm higher than that of a shoe without the steel toe cap 5. Moreover, the welt unit 6 generally has a height of 2 mm and covers only a small portion of the top cap portion 301, thereby providing a limited improvement of the visual aesthetic quality of the conventional shoe having the welt unit 6. As a result, users would not like to wear the conventional safety shoes as casual shoes.

Additionally, shoes for a diabetic patient have a structure similar to that of the above-mentioned conventional shoe except that the steel toe cap 5 is omitted so as to provide sufficient space for accommodating the patient's foot. Therefore, the visual aesthetic quality of such shoes also needs to be improved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a shoe having a welt unit capable of alleviating the above drawback of the prior art.

Accordingly, a shoe of the present invention comprises a vamp unit, an outsole unit, and a welt unit. The vamp unit has a top open end section, a bottom end section, and a toe cap section that is disposed between the top open end section and the bottom end section. The outsole unit is coupled to the bottom end section of the vamp unit, and has a top surface and a groove that is formed in the top surface for retaining at least a portion of the bottom end section of the vamp unit corresponding in position to the toe cap section of the vamp unit. The welt unit is disposed on the top surface of the outsole unit and extends along the contour of at least the toe cap section of the vamp unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a conventional shoe having a welt unit;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the conventional shoe taken along line II-II in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a first preferred embodiment of a shoe according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary partly sectional view of the first preferred embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the first preferred embodiment taken along line V-V in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a welt unit and an outsole unit of the first preferred embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the welt unit of the first preferred embodiment, illustrating modifications of the welt unit;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a welt unit and an outsole unit of a second preferred embodiment of the shoe according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a welt unit and an outsole unit of a third preferred embodiment of the shoe according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is an assembled perspective view of the welt unit and the outsole unit of the third preferred embodiment;

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of a welt unit and an outsole unit of a fourth preferred embodiment of the shoe according to the present invention;

FIG. 12 is an assembled perspective view of the welt unit and the outsole unit of the fourth preferred embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary partly sectional view of a fifth preferred embodiment of the shoe according to the present invention;

FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of a welt unit and an outsole unit of a sixth preferred embodiment of the shoe according to the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a schematic sectional view of the welt unit and the outsole unit of the sixth preferred embodiment;

FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of a welt unit and an outsole unit of a seventh preferred embodiment of the shoe according to the present invention; and

FIG. 17 is an assembled perspective view of the welt unit and the outsole unit of the seventh preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it should be noted that like reference numerals are used to indicate corresponding or analogous elements throughout the accompanying disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, a first preferred embodiment of a shoe according to the present invention is shown. The shoe comprises a vamp unit 10, an outsole unit 20, a lining 30, a protective toe cap 40, a welt unit 50, and a midsole 60.

The vamp unit 10 has a top open end section 11, a bottom end section 12, a toe cap section 13, and a heel section 14. The toe cap section 13 is disposed between the top open end section 11 and the bottom end section 12. The heel section 14 is disposed between the top open end section 11 and the bottom end section 12 and behind the toe cap section 13.

Further referring to FIG. 6, the outsole unit 20 is coupled to the bottom end section 12 of the vamp unit 10, and includes a first outsole 21, and a strengthening outsole 22.

The first outsole 21 has a top surface 211, and a groove 212 that is formed in the top surface 211 for retaining at least a portion of the bottom end section 12 of the vamp unit 10 corresponding in position to the toe cap section 13 of the vamp unit 10. In this embodiment, the groove 212 is for retaining the bottom end section 12 of the vamp unit 10 in full length, i.e., the bottom end section 12 is entirely retained in the groove 212.

The top surface 211 of the outsole unit 20 has a marginal surface end part 215 surrounding the groove 212 and is mounted with the welt unit 50. The groove 212 is defined cooperatively by a bottom groove surface 213 and a surrounding groove surface 214 that extends upwardly from a periphery of the bottom groove surface 213 to the marginal surface end part 215 of the top surface 211.

The first outsole 21 is a shoe bottom and may be made of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), rubber, foamed rubber, or polyurethane (PU) material, and so on.

The strengthening outsole 22 is disposed in the groove 212, and has a top sole surface 221 coupled to the bottom end section 12 of the vamp unit 10 and a bottom sole surface 222. The strengthening outsole 22 is for enhancing the strength and the stiffness of the outsole unit 20, particularly when the first outsole 21 is made of EVA. In this embodiment, the strengthening outsole 22 may be made of plastic, rubber, or polyvinylchloride (PVC) material, and so on. The strengthening outsole 22 may be omitted in other embodiments of this embodiment as long as the first outsole 21 has a required strength and stiffness.

The lining 30 is disposed in the vamp unit 20.

The protective toe cap 40 is disposed in the toe cap section 13 of the vamp unit 10, is disposed between the vamp unit 10 and the lining 30, and has a lower portion retained in the groove 212 of the outsole unit 20. Preferably, the protective toe cap 40 includes a surrounding wall 41, and an inner flange wall 42 that extends inwardly from a bottom end of the surrounding wall 41 and that serves as the lower portion of the protective toe cap 40 to be retained in the groove 212.

In this embodiment, the protective toe cap 40 may be made of steel, aluminum, synthetic resin, or a composite material. The thickness of each of the surrounding wall 41 and the inner flange wall 42 is substantially equal to 2 mm.

The welt unit 50 is mounted on the top surface 211 of the first outsole 21 and extends along the contour of at least the toe cap section 13 of the vamp unit 10.

In this embodiment, the welt unit 50 includes a welt member 51 surrounding the vamp unit 10, and a thread 52 sewn on the welt member 51. Further referring to FIG. 7, the welt member 51 and the thread 52 may be modified to have different configurations as desired.

The midsole 60 is disposed in the vamp unit 10 and is connected to the bottom end section 12 of the vamp unit 10, the strengthening outsole 22, and a lower portion of the lining 30.

To sum up, the advantages of the present invention are as follows. (1) Since the lower portion of the protective toe cap 40 is retained in the groove 212 instead of being coupled on the top surface 211, a vertical height of the toe cap section 13 of the vamp unit 10 is decreased as compared to that of the aforementioned conventional shoe as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Additionally, a portion of the toe cap section 13 of the vamp unit 10 is covered by the welt unit 50, thereby further decreasing the vertical height of the toe cap section 13 in appearance so as to improve the visual aesthetic quality of the shoe of this invention. (2) The strengthening outsole 22 mounted in the groove 212 of the first outsole 21 can enhance the structural strength of the outsole unit 20.

It should be noted that the protective toe cap 40 may be omitted for diabetic patients.

Referring to FIG. 8, a second preferred embodiment of the shoe of the present invention is shown. The main difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment resides in that the outsole unit 20 further includes a second outsole 23 coupled fixedly to a bottom side of the first outsole 21 and serving as a shoe bottom. The second preferred embodiment has the same advantages as those of the first preferred embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a third preferred embodiment of the shoe of the present invention is shown. The main difference between the third embodiment and the first embodiment resides in the following. In this embodiment, the welt unit 50 includes a first welt member 53 extending along the contour of the toe cap section 13 of the vamp unit 10 (see FIG. 3), a second welt member 54 extending along the contour of the heel section 14 of the vamp unit 10, and a thread 55 sewn on the first welt member 51. The first and second welt members 53, 54 are disposed on the marginal surface end part 215 of the top surface 211. Each of the first and second welt members 53, 54 has opposite two ends, and the two ends of the first welt member 53 are connected respectively to the two ends of the second welt member 54. While the third preferred embodiment has the same advantages as those of the first preferred embodiment, the appearance of the shoe is similar to a Goodyear welted shoe.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, a fourth preferred embodiment of the shoe according to the present invention has a structure similar to that of the third embodiment. The main difference between the fourth embodiment and the third embodiment resides in the following. In this embodiment, the groove 212 is formed in a front side of the top surface 211 of the outsole 21 and retains the toe cap section 13 of the vamp unit 10 (see FIG. 3) therein. The top surface 211 of the outsole 21 has a rear surface end part 216 behind the groove 212, and a marginal surface end part 217 cooperating with the rear surface end part 216 to surround the groove 212. The groove 212 is defined cooperatively by a bottom groove surface 213, and a surrounding groove surface 214 extending upwardly from a front portion of a periphery of the bottom groove surface 213 to the marginal surface end part 217 of the top surface 211. The welt unit 50 is mounted on the marginal surface end part 217 and a periphery of the rear surface end part 216. The fourth preferred embodiment has the same advantages as those of the third preferred embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 13, a fifth preferred embodiment of the shoe according to the present invention has a structure similar to that of the first embodiment. The main difference between the fifth embodiment and the first embodiment resides in the following. In this embodiment, the midsole 60 is not a full-length insole and is connected to a lower portion of the lining 30 and the strengthening outsole 22. The bottom sole surface 222 of the strengthening outsole 22 is coupled to the bottom end section 12 of the vamp unit 10. The fifth preferred embodiment has the same advantages as those of the first preferred embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, a sixth preferred embodiment of the shoe according to the present invention has a structure similar to that of the first embodiment. The main difference between the sixth embodiment and the first embodiment resides in the following. In the first preferred embodiment, the first outsole 21 is formed integrally as a single piece, whereas the first outsole 21 in this embodiment has a bottom sole part 24 and an insert sole part 25 that is coupled to a top side of the bottom sole part 24 and that is formed with the top surface 211. The groove 212 is formed in the top surface 211 and retains the toe cap section 13 of the vamp unit 10 (see FIG. 3) therein. In this embodiment, the bottom sole part 24 is made from a material different from that of the insert sole part 25. For example, the bottom sole part 24 may be made of rubber, foam rubber, or PU material, and the insert sole part 25 may be made of EVA, thus resulting in a relatively light total weight of the outsole unit 20. Additionally, a periphery of the bottom sole part 24 has a color different from that of the insert sole part 25, such that the shoes for different functionalities can be identified easily by the color of the insert sole part 25. For example, the shoe with the periphery of the insert sole part 25 being yellow may serve as a safety shoe, and the shoe with the periphery of the insert sole part being brown may be one that does not serve as a safety shoe. The sixth preferred embodiment has the same advantages as those of the first preferred embodiment.

Referring to FIGS. 16 and 17, a seventh preferred embodiment of the shoe according to the present invention has a structure similar to that of the fourth preferred embodiment. The main difference between the seventh embodiment and the fourth embodiment resides in the following. The outsole unit 10 further includes a side wall 218 that is disposed on and that extends along a rear portion of a periphery of the rear surface end part 216 of the top surface 211 opposite to the groove 212, and that has a pair of tapered ends 219 formed respectively with two first inclined end surfaces 2190.

The welt member 51 of the welt unit 50 extends from one of the tapered ends 219 of the side wall 218 along the marginal surface end part 217 of the top surface 211 to the other one of the tapered ends 219 of the side wall 218, and has a pair of end segments 511 formed respectively with two second inclined end surfaces 512 that abut respectively against the first inclined end surfaces 2190 of the tapered ends 219 of the side wall 218. The seventh preferred embodiment has the same advantages as those of the first preferred embodiment.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what are considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A shoe comprising: a vamp unit having a top open end section, a bottom end section, and a toe cap section that is disposed between said top open end section and said bottom end section; an outsole unit coupled to said bottom end section of said vamp unit, and having a top surface and a groove that is formed in said top surface for retaining at least a portion of said bottom end section of said vamp unit corresponding in position to said toe cap section of said vamp unit; and a welt unit disposed on said top surface of said outsole unit and extending along the contour of at least said toe cap section of said vamp unit.
 2. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a protective toe cap disposed in said toe cap section of said vamp unit and having a lower portion that is retained in said groove of said outsole unit.
 3. The shoe as claimed in claim 2, wherein: said bottom end section of said vamp unit is entirely retained in said groove; said top surface of said outsole unit has a marginal surface end part surrounding said groove and mounted with said welt unit; and said groove is defined cooperatively by a bottom groove surface and a surrounding groove surface that extends upwardly from a periphery of said bottom groove surface to said marginal surface end part of said top surface.
 4. The shoe as claimed in claim 3, wherein said welt unit surrounds said vamp unit.
 5. The shoe as claimed in claim 2, wherein: said groove is formed in a front side of said top surface of said outsole unit and retains said toe cap section of said vamp unit therein; said top surface of said outsole unit has a rear surface end part behind said groove, and a marginal surface end part cooperating with said rear surface end part to surround said groove, said welt unit being mounted on said rear surface end part and said marginal surface end part; and said groove is defined cooperatively by a bottom groove surface, and a surrounding groove surface extending upwardly from a front portion of a periphery of said bottom groove surface to said marginal surface end part of said top surface.
 6. The shoe as claimed in claim 5, wherein said welt unit surrounds said vamp unit.
 7. The shoe as claimed in claim 5, wherein: said outsole unit further includes a side wall that is disposed on and that extends along a rear portion of a periphery of said rear surface end part of said top surface opposite to said groove, and that has a pair of tapered ends formed respectively with two first inclined end surfaces; said welt unit extends from one of said tapered ends of said side wall along said marginal surface end part to the other one of said tapered ends of said side wall, and has a pair of end segments formed respectively with two second inclined end surfaces that abut respectively against said first inclined end surfaces of said tapered ends of said side wall.
 8. The shoe as claimed in claim 2, wherein said outsole unit includes a first outsole having said top surface, and a second outsole coupled fixedly to a bottom side of said first outsole.
 9. The shoe as claimed in claim 2, wherein said outsole unit includes a first outsole having said top surface, and a strengthening outsole disposed in said groove.
 10. The shoe as claimed in claim 9, wherein said strengthening outsole has a top sole surface coupled to said bottom end section of said vamp unit.
 11. The shoe as claimed in claim 9, wherein said strengthening outsole has a bottom sole surface coupled to said bottom end section of said vamp unit.
 12. The shoe as claimed in claim 2, wherein said protective toe cap includes a surrounding wall, and an inner flange wall that serves as said lower portion of said protective toe cap and that extends inwardly from a bottom end of said surrounding wall.
 13. The shoe as claimed in claim 2, wherein said welt unit includes a welt member surrounding at least said toe cap section of said vamp unit and a thread sewn on said welt member.
 14. The shoe as claimed in claim 2, wherein: said vamp unit further has a heel section disposed between said top open end section and said bottom open end section and behind said toe cap section; and said welt unit includes a first welt member extending along the contour of said toe cap section of said vamp unit, and a second welt member extending along the contour of said heel section of said vamp unit.
 15. The shoe as claimed in claim 14, wherein said welt unit further includes a thread sewn on said first welt member.
 16. The shoe as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a lining disposed in said vamp unit, said protective toe cap being disposed between said vamp unit and said lining.
 17. The shoe as claimed in claim 2, wherein said outsole unit includes a first outsole having a bottom sole part and an insert sole part that is coupled to a top side of said bottom sole part and that is formed with said top surface.
 18. The shoe as claimed in claim 17, wherein said bottom sole part of said first outsole is made from a material different from that of said insert sole part of said first outsole.
 19. The shoe as claimed in claim 17, wherein a periphery of said bottom sole part of said first outsole has a color different from that of said insert sole part of said first outsole. 